U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) said it has received shipment of nearly 100,000 repatriated M1 Garand rifles to replenish nearly depleted stocks of U.S. military surplus rifles sold the past two decades to eligible American citizens. In addition, the Secretary of the Army recently released approximately 8,000 much-anticipated milsurp M1911/M1911A1 pistols to CMP.
“We’re excited to have the guns,” CMP Chief Operating Officer Mark Johnson said. “We’ve been working on getting them for several years, and it’s the first shipment of guns we’ve received in quite some time.”
Loaners come home
The repatriated M1 Garands―about 86,000 from the Philippines and 13,000 from Turkey―went on loan to those countries following WWII under the Military Assistance Program (MAP). Because the rifles technically belong to the U.S. Army, it was up to that organization, not CMP, to seek repatriation. Under the anti-civil rights Obama administration, repatriation was never on the table; during those years CMP worked quietly with the U.S. Army, preparing to eventually receive the repatriated rifles and milsurp pistols. Last week’s receipt of the firearms is the culmination of long effort while adopting a wait-and-see attitude by CMP.
Today, the semi-automatic Garands with a fixed capacity of eight rounds are obsolete for military purposes, and they now enjoy collector and “collector-shooter” status among American riflemen, especially for those who participate in CMP As-issued John C. Garand competitions. The U.S. Army, having no use for the repatriated rifles, has turned them over to CMP for subsequent sale to eligible individuals. The practice at CMP is to clean, carefully inspect, and test fire every salable firearm to ensure safe and proper operation. Then, a price is set based upon its overall condition, with a few select rifles garnering higher, collector-status prices.
“We’ve already begun on the Turkish rifles,” Johnson said. “They’re already filtering into the system and there are some on the racks for sale now.” Of note to collectors, he said the Turk and Filipino Garands are indistinguishable from any other M1 Garand. “We haven’t seen any kind of markings thus far, nothing to identify what country has had them,” he said.
Pistols, too
The milsurp M1911/M1911A1 pistols will also go to eligible citizens through CMP sales on a lottery basis. CMP posts eligibility requirements for pistol and rifle purchases on its website; those requirements include proof of U.S. citizenship, participation in marksmanship activities and membership in a CMP affiliated club, as well as passing an FBI NICS criminal background check. In the case of the M1911/M1911A1 pistols, buyers must pass two NICS checks, one at CMP and a second at the Federal Firearms License dealer where they pick up the shipped handgun.
Sales of milsurp arms was historically through the U.S. Army Director of Civilian Marksmanship (DCM) via the NRA. In 1996, Congress closed DCM and chartered the non-profit Corporation for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and Firearms Safety (now called the CMP). At that time the Army transferred remaining stocks of surplus firearms and ammunition to CMP to sell for income in supporting itself. Late last year, Johnson said CMP expected to sell the last of those remaining milsurp M1 Garands by 2019; this eleventh-hour receipt of the Garands and M1911/M1911A1 pistols is a big financial shot in the arm for CMP.
More to come?
And while the present 107,000 milsurp rifles and pistols are good news for CMP, collectors and competitors, there is more on the horizon. South Korea has approximately 80,000 M1 Garands and about 600,000 M1 Carbines loaned to that country under MAP. South Korea aborted an attempt to sell those loaned firearms to U.S. importers a few years ago. CMP is hopeful that these will also eventually be repatriated and passed on to the American citizen.
About the National Rifle Association
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America’s oldest civil rights and sportsmen’s group. More than five million members strong, NRA continues to uphold the Second Amendment and advocates enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation’s leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the armed services. Follow the NRA on social at Facebook.com/NationalRifleAssociation and Twitter @NRA.
About The Civilian Marksmanship Program:
The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a federally chartered 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation. It is dedicated to firearm safety and marksmanship training and to the promotion of marksmanship competition for citizens of the United States.
For more information about the CMP and its programs, log onto their website.
when will the 1911s be available In the Illinois area? also interested in AR15??
also where will I go to get these weapons?
CMP rifle sales to customers are limited to eight (8) per calendar year (see https://thecmp.org/cmp_sales/rifle_sales/m1-garand/ ). This limitation went into effect on 20 SEP 2016 and was retroactive to the beginning of 2016. (I still have the CMP Sales Update email announcing it.) In addition, for the most desirable variations, sales are limited to one (1) per customer per calendar year. One can verify this statement by scrolling down the webpage found at the link I listed at the beginning of this comment. Explore CMP’s website. READ, not scan, the Eligibility Requirements and the 1911 Information webpages so you’ll know… Read more »
The M1’s, .45’s and Carbines the CMP sells are U.S. Government property and must be brought back into this country if loaned to a foreign country thru U.S. procedures. Where the CMP screwed up in my opinion is/was not continuing with the limit of sales. When I placed my order way back when, I was permitted to buy ONE! Only one per person. Now individuals can purchase an unlimited (?) number each year and parts swap to basement build “original” parts rifles. These “complete” rifles bring a higher selling value than those mixed parts armory rebuilt guns. However, the armory… Read more »
Hopefully CMP won’t be gouging people for the Garands like they are for the 1911s. Under the enlightened leadership of the CMP, the 1911s will only be available to elitist gun collectors with lots of money to spend. . . like the people who run the CMP. Glad I already have my Garand.
@jh45gun: Correct. I purchased my Garand a while back and refinished the stock myself (took a month and a half). These are pieces of history, if you’re looking for bargain guns go elsewhere. The 1911’s are out of my price range and of no interest to me but it appears that the Garands will be around the same price they were before the Obama “lockdown”.
As a PS for those who don’t know, “Garand” is pronounced “Garund”. He was French and that’s how he pronounced his name.
I purchased a 1944 Garand from CMP about 8 years ago. It is just beautiful, and works like a dream. Was completely gone over by the CMP gunsmiths for safety and reliability prior to being offered for sale as all weapons are. Consistently gives shot groups in the 3.5 in range all bay from sandbags at the range and attracts a lot of attention. By the way I paid $650 for mine.